An application that let's you track satellites like ISS and even see them in the sky yourself!

in #space6 years ago

And it is called Orbitron!

2018-04-08_031924.jpg

It let's you track HUNDREDS of satellites! And it shows when they are visible in your city, and if the sky isn't too cloudy, you can see a moving dot in the sky!

Download:
http://www.stoff.pl/
(download the USA version)
This application is quite old, but it works perfectly since it syncs data from the internet.

Now, let me show you how to set it up!

Step 1: install it. That is pretty easy so I won't show you how to do it.

Step 2: when you open it, you will be asked to update TLE, don't do it.

Step 3: press the tiny dot on the top right corner

2018-04-08_023406.jpg

Step 4(optional): disable fullscreen

Step 5: choose "Auto update TLE"

Step 6: press "ok"

Step 7: change the number "30" to "7" and mark this group for auto update.

2018-04-08_023733.jpg

Step 8: Press "Apply" and then "Ok"

Step 9: Go to "Auto update TLE" again and wait until it updates.

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When it is done just press "Ok".

Step 10: Go to visualization, and mark "Track" and "Middle".

2018-04-08_024203.jpg

Step 11: Go to Location and in the search bar find a city you live in, then press "Choose".

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By default, the city is Torun, Poland because that is where the creator of this program lives. And for the purpose of this tutorial I chose New York, but trust me there are MANY small cities there, so most of you should find your city. If you don't, go to http://qthlocator.free.fr/ and when you find your city just left click it. From the pop up where it says "QTH Locator" copy the code and paste it into "Grid Locator", then write your city name into "Name" and "Sign", press "Add to list" and "Choose".

Congratulations, you are DONE!

Some functionality you should know about:

Choose which satellites you want to see on the right, I personally just keep ISS(International Space Station).

Around the satellite is a green circle, which indicates the area around it where the satellite is visible, BUT you can only see it if the line is yellow, since if it is red it means the sun isn't lighting it(you can still see it with a good telescope)!

The dark places on the map means it is night there(updates in real time, just like the satellite position).

It is impossible to see the ISS with a human eye if it is day where you live.

If your city gets in the green circle the app makes a beep, so if at least some parts of the line are yellow, it is dark outside and you look in the correct position you can see it!

In the bottom right corner the Orbitron logo turns into a mini radar if your city gets in the yellow circle(or under if under visualization, "Mini Radar" you choose it to be always on), which shows where the satellite is from your position(which can help you locate it, since you know which side it is on(north, south).

If you press on the satellite trajectory you can simulate the satellite being there(it is useful for things like checking your radar). If you want iit to go back to being real time, go to "Main", "Mode" and choose "Real time".

You can go to "Prediction" and press "Predict" to see when it will be visible to you.

The ISS goes around the earth in under 2 hours, so you usually if it is dark outside, the sun lights it and it isn't cloudy you can see it every few hours for a few days. But the trajectory slowly shifts, so after a few days the ISS trajectory leaves your city, and the trajectory won't go back to where you live for a few weeks. But don't worry if the ISS isn't visible, there are other satellites, although they are harder to see.

If you have trouble finding it, pay attention to which side it is coming from(north, south, east etc.), and if you can ask friends or family to look for it with you. It looks just like a star that is moving!

If something doesn't work feel free to ask me in the comments!

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Hi, I found some acronyms/abbreviations in this post. This is how they expand:

AcronymExplanation
TLETwo-Line Element dataset issued by NORAD
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